The Marion County Sheriff's Office has heard that a scam is underway in which people are claiming to collect money for a benefit for deceased Marion County Deputy Anthony Rakes.
According to the sheriff's office and Anita Elder (Rakes' sister), they are not aware of any such collection at this time. Elder said they may have a memorial at a later date, but they are not collecting any money at this time.
However, members of Rakes' graduating class are collecting money for a memorial at the high school.
The Kentucky Attorney General's Office has a page of information to avoid scams, located here: http://ag.ky.gov/civil/consumerprotection/scams/.
If you are unsure if the requests being made are legitimate, you should ask questions, according to the Attorney General's Office.
Here are a few tips:
- Be wary of anyone asking for a credit card number or bank account number.
- Be wary of anyone unwilling to answer questions or provide references.
- If you are unsure if the request is legitimate, contact the organization in questions directly.
If you suspect someone is trying to scam you, contact the Lebanon Police Department (692-2121) or the Marion County Sheriff's Office (692-3051).